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Mission Creep
"Mission Creep" is the third episode in Season 1, and overall the third produced hour of Person of Interest. It originally aired on October 6, 2011. Synopsis Airport: February 12, 2006 At an unspecified airport, John Reese encounters Jessica Arndt. She is surprised to see he is back, though he reveals that he is heading back on a new secret mission. Noticing a ring on Jessica's finger, Reese learns from her that she is engaged to a man named Peter. She reminds Reese that he is the one that left, not wanting to cause her pain in case he gets killed. She says that it is easier for Reese to be alone, to which he responses that after his life experiences, "In the end, we're all alone and no-one's coming to save you." Jessica, still in love with Reese, asks him to ask her to wait for him, promising that she will. Reese does not ask, but rather wait until she leaves, quietly asking "Wait for me... please." New York: September 2011 Waking a startled Finch up, Reese is given details regarding the Machine's new person of interest: Joey Durban, a former Marine who recently returned from Afghanistan, and currently works as a hotel doorman. After cloning his cell phone, Reese reads a message sent to Joey, containing the text "ANCHOR D0.GG -GC.I.E. 1630." Finding it to be a bank address, Reese finds himself in the middle of a bank robbery, with Joey and his team fleeing after a few minutes, with no injuries. During the robbery, Reese prevents a security guard from shooting at the thieves. Following Joey, Reese sees him delivering money to a blonde woman, despite that fact that Joey is engaged to his girlfriend (Pia), who waited for him for six years while he was away. During his surveillance of Joey, Reese spots a fellow thief working as a cab driver, delivering more money to Joey. Identified as Willis, Finch discovers one of his stops was to a bar called The Green Zone, owned by a former soldier Sam Latimer, who is also the gang's ringleader. Visiting Latimer under the identity of former soldier Tony Miller, Reese implies to Latimer that he is interested in joining the team, though, according to Latimer, there is no open spot. After Finch planted weapons in Willis' cab and called the police, who arrests him, a spot opens for Reese. The group of robbers kidnap Reese, who question his interest in their team. He claims to have fought in the 107th Infantry Division, the same unit as the rest of the members. Handing him a cellphone, Joey instructs him not to call them, but rather wait for them to call him. At the police station, Detective Carter is approached by Detective Molina, from the robberies department, who shows her footage of the robbery, including Reese stopping the guard from shooting. Carter notices the robbers move like soldiers, with Molina, who is aware of Carter's search for Reese, suggesting that Reese is their inside-man. After examining the footage more closely, Carter recognizes the robbers' radio as a 148 military device, the same one she used when she served in Afghanistan and Iraq. With the radio restricted to military personnel, Carter recounts a report by Fort Drum of a stolen radio package six months ago. With this lead, Carter and Molina start investigating into former soldiers from Fort Drum who are currently residing in New York. After witnessing Joey watching the blonde woman from a distance, Reese also notices a child. He pretends to run into Joey at a local bar, where Joey opens up about his hopes and dreams about his homecoming. Due to the bankers' control of the country, though, Joey failed to find success. They are overheard by two bankers, which leads to a quick bar fight. Joey reveals that the robberies help him pay back an obligation he has, though he has no children. Meanwhile, Finch identifies the blonde woman and child as Stacy and Amy Miles, with the father's name unavailable. Straub, a fellow robber with gambling debts, confronts Latimer and demands more money. Latimer confides in him regarding an upcoming robbery that will result in them acquiring $400,000 - and as always, will be split in half between the soldiers and Latimer. When questioning Latimer whether the deal remains the same if others might get killed, Latimer confirms it. As the new heist at the casino approaches, Reese decides to join in order to protect Joey. Molina and Carter follow a GPS installed in another robber's phone, and call for back-up. Warned by Finch through his ear-piece, Reece forces the robbery to be cut short, with much of the money left behind. After learning that Joey has entered nearly $10,000 into Amy Miles' bank account in the last our months, Finch discovers the identity of the father: Frank Stephens, a fellow soldier killed in Afghanistan. Joey reveals to Reese that Frank replaced him on patrol, and was killed during an attack. He is helping to build Amy's future, despite Pia being unaware of this. Reese visits Pia, pretending to be an old army friend, and convinces her that Joey loves her. Reese then instructs Finch to call the police during the team's next heist, taking place later that night. Meanwhile, Carter discovers the record of two murdered soldiers, with the stolen radios found by their bodies. She concludes that Latimer's robbery team keep changing members, with new former soldiers replacing the ones who fell during a heist. On the phone, Latimer discusses refreshing the team with his boss, deciding that the upcoming heist will be their last. Finch listens in on the call, but is unable to warn Reese, as Straub, who was warned by Latimer to keep an eye on Finch, forces him to remove his ear-piece. At their next robbery location, an evidence lock-up, the team come across the guards and Finch, who quietly warns Reese of the trap. Despite Reese's attempts of warning the team, Straub insists on finishing the job and retrieves an evidence package belonging to M. Elias. One of the guard fires and injures Teddy, and the NYPD is called after the gun shots being reported. At the robbers' van, Latimer shoots Straub and Teddy and escapes. Reese and Joey are the only survivors, and they escape just in time before Carter and Molina's arrival, where they discover more 148 radios. Reese instructs Joey to flee the city with Pia, and supplies him with a few thousand dollars. Carter uses her newly found 148 radio to contact Reese, and tells him she knows he is innocent, and warns him he will end up either imprisoned or dead. Reese replies that he will take his chances. At a dark apartment, Latimer delivers the evidence to Elias. Reese eventually tracks him down, only to find an empty apartment with a murdered Latimer. While Finch is not aware of who Elias is, he goes on to look into it. At a bus station, Joey and Pia depart to Phoenix, with Reese watching from afar. Trivia *"Mission creep" is a phrase used to describe an expansion of a project or a program beyond its original goals. Recurring Themes References Category:Episodes M